Hi, Clint
by NiaRuby00
Summary: Everyone has a soulmate. The one person in the world who is someone's perfect match. Each person has the first words spoken to them by their soulmate written on their body. When the words are spoken, they tingle and darken in colour. Avery Jackson has waited her whole life to meet her soulmate, so when she finally meets him she's ecstatic. There's just one problem. She's mute.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

Avery Jackson had been born with her words.

They were written in a barely legible scrawl across the bottom left of her ribcage. The nursed who had helped care for her in the days after her birth had been appalled by Avery's words. Once her mother had seen what her daughter's words were, she tried her hardest to keep them covered. It wasn't common for people to flaunt their words, but Avery's words were known only by her parents and those nurses in the beginning.

When she was older, Avery didn't understand what was so bad about her words. Sure, there were a few swear words, but Avery thought they were still quite sweet - however confusing that sounds.

Avery loved her words. She was sure that they meant that her soulmate would be someone fun and silly, perhaps a little bit clumsy; but also caring and hard working - even if they were constantly running late. When she was little she didn't understand what all of the words meant - specifically the swear words - but her papa wouldn't tell her what they meant.

Avery was barely 3 years old when her mother left, and as she grew she couldn't help but believe that her words were the reason why. Her mother had always been very vocal in her distaste for her daughter's words. For most of her childhood and teen years Avery blamed herself for her mother abandoning her and her father.

Her father refused to let her believe anything of the sort and for the longest time Avery and her dad were best friends, together through everything.

So when Avery's dad died when she was only 11 years old, and Avery stopped talking; all she had were her words.

Avery loved her words.

Clint Barton's words appeared when he was 4.

He thought they were boring; and he thought that his soulmate - whoever they were - must be boring too. His parents never saw the words, they didn't pay enough attention to him to really take notice - not that they would give a damn either way. Barney teased Clint because his own words were so much better than Clint's. Barney's had a swear word! Clint hated his words.

When the brothers ran away and joined the circus, the costumes and stage makeup made it easy for Clint to cover up his words - the words were situated in the crook on his neck where his neck met his shoulder and could be easily seen in regular t-shirts and just about anything without a collar. When Clint was 13, Barney - who was 18 at the time - found his soulmate. Clint was loathe to admit that he was jealous; every time someone new said his words, Clint fought to suppress the crushing disappointment he felt when his words didn't tingle or burn to indicate he had found his perfect match. He hated that feeling.

Clint didn't like Barney's soulmate; so when he betrayed Clint because of her, the little brother wasn't surprised. He didn't feel guilty about joining SHIELD and helping the organisation take down his brother and the circus. Clint was happy working for SHIELD; he hoped that his work for them would redeem him for all of the wrong he did during his time with the circus. After particularly awful missions Clint would go up to his 'nest' in the rafters of the helicarrier to laugh at the bitter irony of it all. He knew that his work within SHIELD wouldn't redeem him - if anything it would put more red in his ledger - and it was pointless to hope it would.

Clint had many flings, the longest being with one Bobbi Morse. She ended up wanting more than Clint was willing to give. Some part of him desperately wanted to have only one relationship with his perfect match. Clint knew his words were holding him back. And he hated it.

When Clint met Nat, a small part of him hoped that she was his perfect match; and she was ... on paper and in the field. They were both broken to the point where they were unsure that they could ever be whole again. They worked seamlessly together in the field; they were in perfect sync with one another. Strike Team Delta and the partnership between Hawkeye and Black Widow was formidable and became infamous. But Clint and Natasha had a bond similar to twins you could say. There was nothing more to it.

Then Loki happened; and once Clint was himself again, he woke up to find that Nat had found her perfect match ... in Captain America himself.

Clint couldn't believe it but he was so happy for Natasha. She was the one person he knew deserving of finding her perfect match and the happiness guaranteed to come with it. Watching Nat and Steve together made Clint happy but a small - okay, large - part of him was jealous. He wanted what his best friend had. In the end Clint gave up. He knew that he would probably never meet his soulmate at this point - if he even had one.

No, Clint Barton was officially done with this whole soulmate malarkey. His words held a promise that was fated to be broken. So he broke it before anyone else had the chance to.

Clint hated his words.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Avery Jackson was tired. Now, it was a normal thing for her to be half asleep most of the day; and there were numerous occasions where she had fallen asleep at her work station. She would wake up hours later with pens caught in her hair and paper stuck to her face, with the imprints of the computer keys on her forehead. The scientists she shared her lab with didn't mind; it gave them a chance to try and catch up in their own work progress.

Avery essentially lived on coffee – which seemed to be a requirement of the best scientific and analytical minds based in the Avengers Tower. Avery was currently making her 3rd coffee run of the morning, because she knew that she needed to stay awake today. For, today was the first time in the 4 months that she had been working there that Tony Stark was coming down to her lab. Up until now Avery had been mainly working with Pepper Potts in her transition to the tower. Pepper had been ordered - or asked as no one ordered Pepper Potts around – to keep Tony away from Avery.

Pepper had been successful up until now.

Over the months, Pepper and Avery had formed a strange friendship; as Pepper knew sign, she was able to vent about Tony or whatever she needed without any danger of gossip spreading; while Avery could vent about the scientists in her lab or whatever _she_ needed and she finally had someone who could actually understand what it was she was venting about (Avery had found that not many people bothered to learn sign language anymore). So Avery was on another coffee run. Because she had to stay awake; and she had to impress the man who literally held everything she had in her hands. Her job. Her home. Her only friend in around 15 years. She needed to make a good first impression.

Avery slid and shuffled around the breakroom in her fluffy socks as she made her coffee. Stirring sugar into the hot mug, she leaned down to inhale a large breath of coffee flavoured air. Avery let out a gentle sigh of contentment, cradling the ridiculously large coffee mug in her hands as she left the breakroom – she had to compensate for the sleep and coffee runs she would be missing out on later thanks to Stark's visit. She headed back to the lab, the heat from the mug bleeding through to warm her cold hands.

As she made her way back to her lab – stepping every few yards to take another sip – Avery tried to psych herself up for this meeting or whatever it was (she still wasn't entirely sure). It wasn't like Stark could fire her – she was one of the smartest people in the UK, and now the US too, after all. Stark would be a fool to let her go. But that did nothing to calm her racing heart.

Avery worried away at her bottom lip, watching the steam rise from her coffee mug and swirl in the cool air blasting from the AC vents in the hallway. She was only half paying attention to where she was walking so really it wasn't a surprise when she walked into a solid wall.

But then the wall spoke.

" _Shit! I'm so sorry, are you okay?"_

The wall spoke her words.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Clint Barton was bored.

Steve and Bucky were out running – probably seeing how many laps of Brooklyn they could make before lunch. Tony was getting ready for some meeting he had this morning – which Pepper was a bit frantic about. Sam was taking the Maximoffs and Vision on a tour of the city or something. Nat was training, and Banner was in the lab. Clint wasn't fully listening to everyone's plans for the day. However, Pepper – confident, unflappable Pepper – freaking out over a meeting of Tony's was strange, and Clint was curious.

Frowning, Clint looked up at the ceiling, "FRIDAY, what's up with Tony and Pepper?"

"Ms Potts has bee keeping a new scientist in one of the labs a secret for 4 months," the AI said, "Mr Stark knew that there was a secret Ms Potts was keeping, but not what it was. Mr Stark asked what secret Ms Potts was keeping and I informed him. Mr Stark is now getting ready to meet the 'secret scientist' as he put it. He appears to be under the impression that Ms Potts has been unfaithful."

Clint blinked. That had not been what he was expecting. He opened his mouth to speak before frowning and closing it again. He pressed his lips together, his brow furrowing as he thought. He knew that Pepper wasn't cheating on Tony: 1, Clint knew cheaters, he could spot one from miles away their behaviour was so obvious; 2, Pepper was not a cheater … of any kind. Unlike Tony, who cheats at snakes and ladders if given half a chance. So why was Pepper keeping this scientist a secret from Tony?

Clint looked at the ceiling again, "FRIDAY, why was Pepper keeping the scientist a secret?"

If Clint wasn't mistaken, the disembodied voice sounded amused. "Ms Potts did not tell Mr Stark per Director Fury's request. She has since formed a close friendship with Dr Jackson, giving her further reason to hide Dr Jackson's existence as most of Ms Potts friends outside of business, SHIELD, and the Avengers, Mr Stark has 'scared away' so to speak."

Clint hummed as he processed what FRIDAY had said. It all made sense to him why Pepper would want to hide a new friend from Tony because … well because it's Tony. He hopped off the counter, grinning madly. He jogged over to the elevator and asked FRIDAY to take him to Dr Jackson's lab. This was going to be hilarious, Clint knew. It wasn't often that Tony was wrong, and this time it was spectacularly so.

And Fury was going to be pissed, especially because he had asked Pepper to keep Tony away from … wait. Clint had gotten so caught up in the excitement of Tony being wrong that he had forgotten to ask a very important question.

What the fuck did Fury have to do with any of it?

"Dr Jackson has been on SHIELD's – more specifically Director Fury and Agent Coulson's – radar since graduating high school at age 12." Clint startled a little – imperceptibly, of course – at FRIDAY's voice, not realising that he had spoken aloud. "Director Fury was concerned that any premature interaction with Mr Stark would lead to the loss of Dr Jackson from SHIELD. After 13 years of Dr Jackson refusing Director Fury's recruitment attempts, he is understandably reluctant to jeopardise anything."

Clint frowned, deep in thought. This Dr Jackson sounded incredibly important; to both SHIELD and Fury, although Clint wasn't entirely sure if it was strictly professional or more personal in Fury's case. But for the scientist to have refused Fury all those years and still be recruited was impressive. And the Doctor was obviously smart; ridiculously so to have graduated high school at 12 … younger than even Tony was. Clint himself hadn't graduated high school – he hadn't even attended. Clint rolled his eyes. There would be time to further analyse later. Tony was about to have his head yanked out of his ass so abruptly that he won't be able to sit for a week. And Clint wasn't about to miss it.

As soon as the elevator doors opened, Clint was jogging down the hallway, following the light cues FRIDAY provided towards Dr Jackson's lab. And for the world's top marksmen, he should have seen her coming.

But he didn't. And so he ended up covered in coffee, she ended up on her ass also covered in coffee. Clint wouldn't be able to tell you what exactly he said next, but he would be able to recall in great detail the way the woman's full lips parted in an 'o', her big brown eyes grew large before blinking rapidly as she shook her head slightly. She looked down at the puddle of coffee before softly sighing a mournful sigh, her plump bottom lip jutting out slightly in the most adorable pout that Clint had ever seen. A smile unwittingly pulling at his own lips and lighting his eyes.

Clint holds out his hand to help her up, and at first she hesitates, those eyes flicking up to meet his before she slips her small hand into his much larger one. Clint feels his neck tingle, right where his words sit, and for a second he wonders if she will say his words; as he continues to hold her hand in his, her eyes staring into hers and he can see her pupils dilate as she does. But when she still says nothing, he slowly pulls his hand from hers and tries to will away the disappointment that he can feel creeping up on him, instead reaching up to rub at the crook of his neck that is still tingling. Clint watches her face fall, as understanding and something that looked almost like pain wells up in her eyes. She smiles softly as he mutters a soft, "Sorry again. I, uh, I gotta go".

And he can feel her eyes on his back as he turns back in the direction he was headed; fighting the urge to turn back the entire length of the hallway. It wasn't until after he had turned down the final hallway that Clint felt that he could breathe properly again.


	3. Chapter 3

_ITALICS_ = SIGN LANGUAGE

Chapter Three

Clint slipped into the lab silently, nodding in response to the glances sent his way by the other scientists. Moving swiftly, he planted himself in a chair at the end of the only empty work desk, settling in for the show that was certain to unfold in the lab within the next half hour – and he had the best seat in the house. Picking up a random tool from the workbench, Clint cast his eyes about the lab, surveying the work of the other scientists and watching the windows and doors for any signs of Toy, Pepper, or Dr Jackson.

It's around 5 minutes later that Tony walked into the lab; and Clint raises his eyebrows at the man's deep red silk button-up and designer blazer – clearly an outfit meant to intimidate, rather than Stark's usual worn t-shirt and grease-stained jeans. Clint rolled his eyes. Typical Stark. Clint set the object he had been fiddling with back on the workbench, straightening up in his chair and crossing his arms. Tony sauntered into the lab, ignoring the other scientists and moving straight over to the workbench Clint sat by. Making his way down the bench, Tony poked through the different projects and Dr Jackson's notes, seemingly unimpressed – but Clint read right through it. Tony was genuinely impressed – which was hard to manage.

Finally noticing Clint, Tony frowned, "Legolas, what are you doing here?"

Clint smirked, "Entertainment."

Tony hummed, having stopped paying attention the moment he finished asking his question. Walking around Clint to the other side of the workbench, Tony patted the archer on the head, Clint's lip curling up in a grimace as he batted Tony's hand away. It was at this moment that Pepper strode in.

From looking at her, you would never have guessed how panicked and flustered she had been earlier. Her pantsuit was clean and crisp; there wasn't a single hair out of place; and her face was calm and stern. But Clint was still able to spot the well-hidden hint of panic in her eyes.

"Tony," she started, "what are you doing?"

He didn't look up at her, instead he continued to poke through the workbench, "Isn't it obvious, Pep? I am waiting for your super-secret science boytoy to show up, so I can assert my caveman dominance over his complete inferiority."

Clint stifled his laughter but was unable to do the same with the smirk that grew on his face. Pepper, however, was not as restrained. After blinking a couple times, she burst into a fit of giggles. Tony's head snapped up at the sound of Pepper's giggles, confusion painting his features and furrowing his brow. Several times over the next few minutes, Tony would ask Pepper what was so funny - sounding more frustrated each time – and every time Pepper would splutter a little before laughing even harder, until her face was red, and tears were leaking from the corners of her eyes.

When a fourth person joined them, they were frozen by the sight that greeted them. Pepper Potts was bent over at the waist, clutching her stomach as tears rolled down her face and her body shook with laughter. Tony Stark was stood staring at Pepper in confusion and frustration, his face steadily turning a darker shade of red as he watched her. Clint Barton was sat watching them both with a broad smirk on his face as amusement danced in his eyes, when he felt the tingling sensation on the crook of his neck that he had felt before. A second later his eyes flashed to the newcomer's, and as they locked eyes, Clint's widened almost infinitesimally as he recognised the newcomer as the woman he had knocked into the hallway. He cleared his throat to get Pepper and Tony's attention before he gestured to the woman at the door.

Tony's frown deepened, "Who are you?"

Pepper looked between the newcomer and Tony, her mouth slightly agape, before she promptly burst into another set of giggles. The corner of Clint's mouth twitched, but this time he was just as confused as Tony.

Clint's eyes were drawn back to the woman as she walked further into the room. Her dark hair as loosely pulled into a thick knot at the bottom of her head, with stray tendrils curling around her neck and framing her face. Dark eyebrows, each shaped into a delicate arch, furrowed slightly – and her forehead and nose scrunched up in a way that Clint found adorable. Large, wire-rimmed glasses sat on the bridge of her small nose and made her – what Clint assumed were already big – brown eyes appear larger and her lashes appear fuller and longer. Her mouth was small but full, and a dark pink colour – a natural shade from the way her bottom lip discoloured as her teeth pulled at it. The combination of colour was startling. Eyes so dark the pupil was almost indistinguishable against the iris, lips the colour of raspberries, a smattering of caramel freckles across her nose and the rosy apples of her cheeks; the different colours all vibrant against the creamy paleness of her skin. She wore black skinny jeans underneath a ginormous navy-blue MIT hoodie that swamped her tiny figure – Clint guessed that the top of her head would barely reach his shoulder. Her small, pale hands clutched the large coffee mug from before – presumably refilled – to her chest, as if she were trying to absorb as much of its warmth as possible. On her feet were a pair of bright blue, thick, fuzzy socks. Clint couldn't help the small grin that formed at the sight of them.

She was striking in a subtle, delicate way. In Clint's eyes, she was devastatingly beautiful.

She stopped when she had reached the workbench they had gathered around. Setting her mug on the table, the woman looked at Pepper and lifted her hands and Clint immediately recognised her gestures as ASL – and his eyes widened a little as he did.

 _What's going on?_

Pepper, who had finally stopped laughing, signed something back – but the angle she was at compared to Clint prevented him from reading what she had signed; so he watched the still unidentified woman instead. A smile grew on her face as she read what Pepper was signing, and a spark of mischief lit up in her eyes. Tony's repeated question of, "Pep, who is this?" only made the smiles on the woman's and Pepper's faces grow wider.

 _Do you want to tell him, or shall we let FRIDAY? She's involved in his confusion somehow and I can literally feel her amusement._

Pepper turned to the men at the workbench, beckoning the woman further forward.

Pepper grinned, "Tony, this is Dr Avery Jackson." She paused, and her grin widened as Tony's jaw dropped, "My super-secret science boy-toy."

Clint's grin was so wide, his cheeks started to hurt. This was so much better than he thought it was going to be!"

Tony began spluttering, his gestures becoming wilder the longer he was unable to speak coherently.

"You … she … bu- … wha- … Pep- … she … bu- … Fri- … WHAT?!"

Pepper started laughing again, and Clint smirked. Then his eyes flicked to the woman – or Dr Jackson it seemed – and his smirk turned to a curious frown as he watched her reaction. Her shoulders shook as if she were laughing uncontrollably; yet she didn't make a sound, just a sharp exhale through her nose. She looked at a webcam mounted on her computer – Clint tilted his head a little to the side as he spotted it, curious as to why "ancient tech" (as Stark would call it) was in the lab – and lifted her hands.

 _FRIDAY, I think it's time you come clean and tell Mr Stark the whole story._

Ah, Clint thought, she talks to FRIDAY through the webcam.

"Sir, Dr Jackson has been working in this lab in the tower for the past 4 months. You were not informed because it was requested of myself and Ms Potts that you not be. You assumed that Ms Potts was unfaithful as you did not have the true story."

Tony's jaw clenched, "Then why didn't you tell me – not that I was wrong, even I know that is a lost cause … I mean … you could have at least told me that Dr Jackson is a woman!"

Pepper frowned at this, opening her mouth ready to speak. But Dr Jackson was already signing to the webcam.

 _Yes, why didn't you tell Mr Stark that I'm a woman?_

"As Agent Barton said earlier, it was for my entertainment, Dr Jackson." Tony's jaw dropped, while the three others laughed.

 _How many times do I have to tell you to call me Avery, instead of Dr Jackson?_

"I am programmed to speak formally, thus you shall remain Dr Jackson. You, however, are not programmed in such a way; and if Mr Stark could understand ASL, he would be quick to inform you to call him by his given name."

Tony looked towards Dr Jackson, "You're talking about me to FRIDAY? Also, she's right, call me Tony, or Iron Man, either one is fine, I don't care," Tony shrugged, "I'm lying, call me Iron Man, not enough people do." Clint rolled his eyes.

Dr Jackson manoeuvred her body in a way so that she was facing Tony, but the camera could still pick up on what she was signing so FRIDAY could translate.

 _Then call me Avery, Iron Man._ She smirked, sending a wink Tony's way. Clint felt himself grow jealous at that – even though he refused to acknowledge it.

Tony nodded slowly, before frowning, "So … are you deaf? Cause that would explain the signing; it would be like we had a bat in our midst or something."

Pepper groaned; because, although used to Tony's brutal form of honesty, even she couldn't believe what he had said this time. Avery frowned, although she looked slightly amused too, which Pepper supposed was a good sign. Clint was just confused, so he decided to speak up for the first time since Tony first entered the lab.

"Man, that made no sense. Bats are blind, not deaf. Come on, man, aren't you supposed to be a genius?"

"Legolas!" Tony exclaimed, looking genuinely surprised, "When did you make it to the party?"

"I was here before any of you were," Clint said, disbelief colouring his tone. He was used to Tony being absent-minded – they all were – but this took the cake; and it was made worse when the tingling sensation on the crook of his neck burned more intensely, and Clint just knew that Avery had turned her eyes to him. Clint had to fight the blush trying to spread up his neck. Tony still looked confused, and Clint rolled his eyes, "What am I invisible?"

"Sometimes."

"What?"

"Sometimes you're invisible. Like whenever you're in the vents, for example."

"When I'm in the vents I'm not invisible, you just can't see me."

"Thus you are invisible, as you are not visible to me."

"Stark, that makes no sense, just because you can't see something doesn't make it invisible."

"Maybe not to others, but it is invisible to me, and really that's all that matters."

Clint opened his mouth to argue further, but then he realised that arguing with Tony about the definition of invisible was a lost cause – even though Clint was right, and Tony was wrong. So Clint just settled for, "Whatever, but you were still wrong about the bats."

Tony rolled his eyes, "I wasn't wrong, I know bats are blind, not deaf, but I just couldn't think of any deaf birds from the top of my head, can you? Birds should be your specialty, Hawk-boy."

Suddenly, FRIDAY's voice broke through the air, bringing Tony and Clint's attention back to Pepper and Avery, "Dr Jackson would like to know _what the fuck is happening right now_?"

Clint's wide eyes locked with Avery's as she shook with her strange silent laughter, Pepper stood next to her looking a little shell-shocked. The burning on Clint's neck intensified.

Pepper, deciding that the situation called for a little intervention on her part, stepped forward a small space to explain, "Avery isn't deaf, she's selectively mute."


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Hi, sorry this is so late, I just moved into my room at Uni so it's been a bit hectic lately. I can't promise that my uploading schedule will be as regular as it has been the last few weeks, but I will be trying my best! Thank you so much for all the likes, follows, and reviews; every time I get another notification come through I can't quite believe that people are reading and actually like my work, so thank you so, so much.**

 _ITALICS =_ SIGN LANGUAGE

Chapter Four

Avery didn't know what to think. First this whole Tony Stark thing, which was stressing her out enough. And then, she meets her soulmate – who makes her spill her coffee! A blasphemous act, truly.

In all honesty, Avery was ecstatic to have finally met her soulmate. She's been dreaming of this her entire life! She really couldn't help it that her jaw dropped, and everything just stopped around her when those words left his mouth. And – let's be honest – it didn't hurt that he was gorgeous. He was all hard muscles, strong jaw, brown-hair, and blue eyes. Avery felt her breath hitch when those eyes locked on her. Her words were tingling, and Avery couldn't stop the little shiver that ran through her at the sensation.

This. This is what she had been waiting for.

But it all came crashing down around her as she realised that he was waiting for her to speak. Avery could have cried when she saw the disappointment wash through his eyes before the blue swirls hardened. But she saw it. She felt it. And Avery knew – she **knew** that he could feel the tingling sensation on his words – the words she was fated to speak when they first met – that she could feel along her own. But she didn't say a thing. She couldn't. So she stared at him, and she watched as he walked away. Her heart bled, and tears filled her eyes, but she turned back and filled her coffee mug. Because her heart may be hurting, her soulmate may have no clue what she was to him – well, what she was meant to be to him – and she still had to meet Tony Stark. But she was going to have her coffee, dammit.

When she finally made it to her lab, Avery still couldn't think. But it wasn't a problem considering that she was greeted with a sight that she had no clue how to comprehend even on a good day. But it was amusing, nonetheless. Especially seeing Tony Stark floundering and confused because of her – Avery Jackson. Could she think that about her boss? Avery wasn't sure. But she shrugged it off.

FRIDAY's response as to why she hadn't told Tony that Avery was not a man, made Avery's attention snap towards the man sat silently at the end of her workbench. At least the tingling on her side – which she had honestly only now registered – made sense now. The man – Agent Barton, apparently – was the very same one who had spilt her first mug of coffee (and Avery couldn't possibly be blamed for the slightest narrowing of her eyes at the recognition), her soulmate.

Avery laughed as she watched the two men argue – honestly Tony asking if she was deaf didn't bother her in the slightest, she had learned to have tough skin and let meaner comments slide. For a second, Tony's nickname for the other man – Legolas? Where had that come from? – confused Avery, but the whole "definition of invisibility" argument was downright hilarious. Avery couldn't remember the last time she had laughed so hard. She couldn't help the slightly smug thought that **of course** her soulmate was funny, she had always had a feeling of some sort that she knew he would be. And, in the weirdest way she had ever seen, he was almost defending her by challenging Tony's comment. Although they did get side-tracked, but Avery suspected that that was a common occurrence when things involved Tony Stark, going by Pepper's complete lack of surprise.

But it wasn't until Tony's "Hawk-boy" comment that Avery finally realised who the other man really was. Some genius she was, huh? Because this man, her soulmate, was none other than Agent Clint Barton, also known as Hawkeye – one of the best marksmen in the world, and an Avenger. God, Avery felt so STUPID for not recognising him sooner. Surely, as his soulmate she should have recognised him sooner? And not in the "emotionally and spiritually" mumbo-jumbo sense, the basic kind of recognition when and individual is frequently on the news with his team and is, frankly, low-key famous.

Avery had to say something, not after that revelation. Everyone turned to her when FRIDAY spoke, and Avery couldn't help but laugh. She laughed even harder when she saw the looks on Tony and Clint's faces when Pepper answered Tony's question from earlier. They both looked bewildered. Tony seemed to be doing a spot-on impression of a fish – mouth opening and closing regularly with no sound coming out. Clint's shock was much more subtle – shocking for a master assassin *rolls eyes* - but Avery could still see the shock swimming in his blue eyes.

"And what does that mean, exactly?"

Avery bit her lip in an attempt to prevent the eye roll she wanted to do.

 _It means I have made the conscious decision to not speak._

"But … How do you not speak?" Tony just could not seem to wrap his head around it.

 _Easy._

"Surprisingly, not everyone feels the incessant need to talk as much you do, Stark." Clint said, a smirk curling his lips. Avery felt happiness and appreciation well up at Clint's defence of her, subtly disguised as teasing – which Avery assumed Tony wouldn't blink twice at. Tony waved his hand at Clint in a dismissive gesture.

"So, why don't you talk?" Pepper spluttered, blushing subtly. Clint's eyes widened, seemingly in disbelief at just how far Tony had taken things this time.

Avery's eyes hardened, but she was able to cover it up by ducking her head in a silent chuckle. _I don't talk but I chose not to a long time ago._ Tony opened his mouth, but Avery shook her head at him, raising her hands to sign again, _that's as much as I'm saying, I'm not telling my secrets to anyone, especially someone I just met who is notorious for being shit at keeping his own secrets, Iron Man._ Avery raised her eyebrow in challenge, a smirk dancing across her lips that mirrored Pepper's own as they watched Tony gawk. Clint couldn't hold his laughter back anymore, guffawing loudly to break the silence of the room.

Avery's smirk grew into a smile at the sound of her soulmate's laughter. The knowledge that it was her that had caused Clint such joy made Avery's heart flutter. Clint looked to her then and his laughter tapered off, but his grin grew impossibly wider – Avery marvelled at the sight. His eyes turned serious but there was still traces of amusement racing through the blue depths and his lips were still stretched into a smile. Clint got up from his stool, eyes locked on Avery. Her mind was racing – did he know? Had he figured it out? Avery knew her eyes were wide and that her breath was stuttering, and she knew she must look like an absolute moron but she honestly didn't give a flying fuck. She was lost in Clint's eyes, her head tilting further back the closer he got so she didn't lose eye contact with him.

But then he blinked, and Avery felt like she could breathe again – but she didn't want to be able to breathe, she wanted to drown in those pools of blue. Clint's cheeks flushed a subtle pink – endearingly – as he raised his eyes and his hands. Avery glanced at his eyes before locking her gaze on his hands in shock as he began to sign.

 _Sorry about him, Tony's can be an ass but he's alright really._ The corner of his mouth tipped up, and Avery returned his small smile. _Don't tell him I said that._ It was at that moment that Avery realised Clint had strategically angled his body to block the visual field of Avery's affectionately dubbed 'signing camera'. She grinned, biting her lip and looking down. She missed the way Clint's eyes flashed down to stare at the way her teeth pulled at the pink, plump bottom lip. When she started to lift her head, Clint quickly moved his eyes up, so he was looking at the wall just behind Avery's head.

Avery tilted her head in silent question, which Clint recognised immediately. _I actually am deaf_ , he told her.

Avery blushed, feeling embarrassed all of a sudden, raising her hands to apologise but Clint waved it off before she could begin to form the gestures.

 _Don't apologise, I've been deaf almost my entire life._ He shrugged, _I'm used to it._ _Besides, now I have a new member to the sign club – the name is still a work in progress._ Avery smiled widely but raised her eyebrow and tilted her head. She felt a thrill go through her when Clint understood her silent question again – she felt it must be because of they were soulmates. _Current members stand at five: me, Nat, Steve, Bucky, and Pepper. You make lucky member six._ He smiled, and it was silly but Avery felt her heart swell to have been included in this stupid little group with his superhero friends – because let's face it, Pepper was a superhero. _And, as honorary sixth member of the club I am inviting you to family lunch in the penthouse in about_ Clint looked at his watch, _ten minutes._

Avery gaped at him for so long that Clint turned to face Pepper, "Pepper, I have invited Avery to family lunch, so I'm dragging her away now for the foreseeable future. We'll see you up there." It was with this that Clint grabbed one of Avery's hands – a shock running through each of their bodies at the contact, confusing one and stealing the breath from them both – and pulled her out of the lab towards the bank of elevators, away from a gaping Tony and grinning Pepper.


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: I am so, so, so, so sorry this has taken me such a long time, uni is well and truly kicking my ass and hasn't left me with a lot of time to write. I've been working on other writing projects as well as uni stuff, so my head's been in that world, and I didn't want to write more for this story when my head isn't in the right space for it. I didn't want it to sound forced and rigid, I want this story to flow just like any other; but I haven't been in the right headspace for a while to write anything good. I really hope that I won't take 4 months to update next cause that's fucking ridiculous and a dick move on my part tbh; but I can't say when the next update will come. Thank you so, so much for sticking with me and this story, it means so much, writing has always been an incredible output for me and the positive response that I've gotten to this story is absolutely amazing and mind-blowing, so thank you! I hope you enjoy this much too long-awaited chapter x**

 _ITALICS = SIGN LANGUAGE_

Chapter Five

Avery had never met anyone like Clint Barton before. He was … strange, to say the least. She marvelled at his ability to be so graceful when he was doing his job with the Avengers (she may or may not have watched dozens of YouTube videos of the Avengers in action when she was in the breakroom replenishing her coffee), yet he still managed to walk into the glass door when he was dragging her out of the lab (Tony shouted a single "HA" before crowing "that's the fifth time today, Legolas! And it's not even noon, congrats!"). They stood in the elevator in silence. Avery couldn't help glancing at him out of the corner of her eye every couple of seconds. He was beautiful, there was no way she could deny that. He was staring straight ahead as she lost her train of thought staring at him out of the corner of her eye … let's face it, she was openly staring at him now. Avery's lips tipped up a little at the corner when she saw a muscle in his jaw twitch and his pretty blue eyes dart to her face.

Clint was not staring at her. Totally not. Well, at least she hadn't realised yet. She was openly staring at him, her gaze constantly flicking up to his eyes to check that they weren't watching her watch him. Every time she saw that he was staring at the wall of the elevator, her shoulders relaxed infinitesimally; comforted by the fact that he wasn't aware of her staring – or at least was hiding being aware to save her embarrassment. Either one, she couldn't be sure, but she was leaning towards the latter – he'd be a pretty shit spy if he didn't notice that he was being stared at from half a foot away. Clint bit the inside of his cheek, cause he was staring at her too. But he was a spy – he knew stealth. That's why he was staring straight ahead … at her reflection on the elevator wall. His upper lip twitched as the continued weight of Avery's stare darted across his face – and did she linger on his lips then? Clint lifted the corner of his mouth again, and yep, there it was; Avery's gaze zeroed in on his lips. This could be fun, Clint thought, glancing at her quickly. Slowly – and with all the seduction training Nat had given him years ago ("you're hopeless at seduction, Barton" she had said, "you're look like a naked mole rat that's been constipated for days looking at a toilet – wide-eyed, grimacing and kinda bloated. Not attractive, Clint." He resents the comparison … naked mole rats don't use toilets and he wasn't bloated, he'd just eaten a big-ass sandwich) – Clint parted his lips, wetting them with his tongue. Tasha would be proud – or just roll her eyes and call him pathetic.

Avery watched as he licked his lips, and Clint blew a fast breath out of his nose in satisfaction when he heard her breath hitch and stutter. He kept his gaze fixed forward but allowed his lips to curl into a smirk. Clint eyed Avery out of the corner of his eye, and when the red flush spread across her face, down her neck, and beneath her hoodie, Clint turned his body to face her fully. It was a much better view. His heart stuttered as she looked up at him defiantly – a beautiful contrast to the embarrassed blush that still painted her pale skin. He couldn't help but feel like she had him all figured out, but that was impossible. They had been introduced barely a half hour ago, and he was a master assassin. No, she knew nothing about him, Clint was being ridiculous, he nodded to himself.

But the look in her eyes. Hell, her eyes alone. Big brown orbs of steel and defiance and mischief that often melted into warm chocolate that seemed to look right through him. They unnerved him. They intrigued him. She intrigued him. He tilted his head to the side as he analysed her. She shifted from foot to foot, her gaze flicking to him and away over and over. Her teeth pulled at her bottom lip, the pink vanishing to a white before her teeth release and the blood rushes back with a vengeance. She was nervous – but Clint didn't think that he was the cause for her nerves. He tapped his fingertips to the metal wall to get her attention. Once he had it he lifted his hands from behind his back to sign.

 _You'll be fine, you know._

She frowned.

 _Pardon?_

Clint smiled.

 _They're gonna like you. Just try get past the fact that they all have superpowers._ Clint frowned. _Well, not Stark but I doubt anyone ever really gets used to him._

She laughs. Clint smiles.

 _You don't have powers either, do you?_

Clint chuckles. _No, I'm not enhanced but I'm a badass all on my own – I don't need a fancy metal suit._

He winks. Avery blushes.

The elevator dings, and FRIDAY's voice breaks the silence.

"Welcome to the Avenger's common room, Dr Jackson."

Avery's eyes were wide as she looked around, moving towards the sofas in the centre of the room. She ran her hands along the thick and fluffy throw blanket thrown over the back of one of them; she could imagine herself cuddled up on the sofa, dozing every so often, soaking in the warmth surrounding her … wrapped up in the blanket and her soulmate's arms. She glanced at him over her shoulder only to find him already looking at her. He leaned against the counter separating the spacious kitchen area from the living area, picking at a bunch of grapes that seemingly appeared out of nowhere. But his eyes never left her, and Avery found herself blushing.

She turned away, walking softly towards the big windows that made up the outer wall. The view was breath-taking, she lifted her hand up to press it against the cool glass. She sighs and closes her eyes.

A throat clearing behind her shoulder makes Avery jump. She huffs out a breath, her hand pressed to her chest, her heart beating wildly beneath her fingers. Clint smiles apologetically.

"Sorry." He says. She shrugs and waves him off.

 _You'll have clearance to get up here from now on, and I wouldn't be surprised if Stark offered you a room in the tower._

 _Why would he do that?_

Clint chuckles. _I think you've impressed him more than anyone else before. He's probably gonna adopt you as a sort of honorary daughter. He's already done it with two other kids._

Avery frowns. _You see me as a kid?_

Clint's eyes widen. _No, no! I doubt you're more than 5 years younger than me, and I'm 30. No his other honorary kids are actually kids. Harley's like 13 and Peter's 15 or 16, I think. I can't remember. Stark's been looking for a girl genius to complete his collection, and I think that you're gonna be the perfect fit in his mind. So … be prepared for that hurricane._

Avery laughs silently, nodding her head. _I will, thanks for the heads up._

 _No problem._

Just then the elevator dings and about 8 people pile out. Avery can't help but stare. A large blond man is laughing and shoving an equally large brunette man with a metal arm. They jostle and wrestle a little bit, playfully arguing about who won some kind of race. They're both very handsome, and Avery recognised their faces immediately as Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes. Her eyes were wide; she grew up listening to her father's stories about those two, apparently her grandma had been close friends with the two during the war. She missed those stories, and she missed her grandma. Avery lost all contact with her family when she was thrown around the British foster system after her father died. But she felt like she was getting a little bit of that back now.

A petite redhead stepped out from behind the two men, flicking the both of them in the head and rolling her eyes. This was Natasha Romanoff, the Black Widow. Both men pouted, Bucky grumbling out a faint, petulant "Natalia", turning to a shorter man at the back of the group – Avery assumed that this must be Sam Wilson, the Falcon. Steve wrapped a massive arm around Natasha's waist. He lifted her up and pressed him to his chest, pressing a soft kiss to her cheek. Steve had the most impressive puppy-dog eyes Avery had ever seen, and she was only a little surprised when Natasha's face softened, and she relaxed in her soulmates hold. Avery couldn't help the twinge of jealousy that she felt watching them. She wanted that.

Avery looked over at Clint, only to see that he was being smothered in hugs by two teenagers, they must be around 15. He laughs and eagerly returns the hugs listening intently as the tell him about their day. These must be the Maximoff twins, Pietro and Wanda. They weren't as famous as the other avengers, but Avery had been debriefed on all of the Tower's inhabitant's when she first started her job. A sentient being hovered just behind them - it was obvious who this was. They were the only non-human here. This was Vision, and Avery was both fascinated and creeped out by them.

At the very back, Avery spotted Dr Bruce Banner making his way over to her. They had met before several times, both in past years either when she was studying for her degrees and during her four months here at the tower. She was comfortable around him, so he felt like a breath of fresh air.

The common area was bursting with noise, and Avery had to resist the temptation to cover her ears in an attempt to block out some of the noise.

"It's a lot, but you'll get used to it." Bruce whispers and Avery smiles at him gratefully.

She looks around, catching Clint's eye briefly before he turns back to the twins. He smiles widely at her, and she grins back, her words tingling deliciously. She feels warm inside, more so than she's felt in so many years.

Then she catches the eye of the Black Widow.

"Who are you?"


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: Hey guys. So remember when I was like "I won't take 4 months to update next time, cause that's a dick move"? Yeah, well, turns out I'm an asshole. I am so sorry that it has been so long. I've had exams and assignments and then just when I was ready to write this again, I watched Endgame and I kinda broke, and had to stay away from this story and the fics that I read myself for a while cause it just hurt way too much. But I'm on summer break now for about 3 and a half months. If I were a good person, I would promise that updates would be coming more regularly, but I'm a lazy little shit so I highly doubt that. I saw every single review asking for an update and felt guilty each time, and I honestly wouldn't be surprised if you guys abandoned me and this story because I've been away so long. But nevertheless, here I am with a new chapter and a million apologies and a boat load of guilt and also a shit-tonne of gratefulness because you guys are literally the sweetest and I love you all, I can't believe that anyone wants to read my work, and to be honest this gives me so much hope for the future. Thank you, thank you, thank you; and I hope you enjoy this chapter xxx**

 _ITALICS = SIGN LANGUAGE_

PREVIOUSLY

The common area was bursting with noise, and Avery had to resist the temptation to cover her ears in an attempt to block out some of the noise.

"It's a lot, but you'll get used to it." Bruce whispers and Avery smiles at him gratefully.

She looks around, catching Clint's eye briefly before he turns back to the twins. He smiles widely at her, and she grins back, her words tingling deliciously. She feels warm inside, more so than she's felt in so many years.

Then she catches the eye of the Black Widow.

"Who are you?"

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Chapter Six

Avery hates to admit it, but she flounders in the seconds it takes for the common area to fall completely silent and turn to stare at her. She turns to look desperately at Clint, knowing that Bruce won't be able to help her seeing as he doesn't know what she's doing in the Avenger's common area.

Much to Avery's relief, Clint seems to come back to himself quickly and moves to her side. He places a gentle but firm hand in the centre of her back for support as he speaks to his team-mates and family.

"This is Avery, she works here in the tower and she's my plus one for family lunch." Clint says, "So be nice, Tasha."

Natasha harumphs (somehow managing to make the noise/movement graceful, which is just how) and appraises Avery for a few seconds before spinning on her heel. She glides into the kitchen, tugging Steve behind her, "C'mon Rogers, it's our turn to make lunch."

"Can you make sandwiches?!" Clint calls, hurrying to follow when Natasha says nothing, determined to convince Natasha to make sandwiches for lunch, "Tasha! Please, I want sandwiches." The common area remains silent the entire time, listening to Clint's cries for sandwiches. There's a dull 'thwack' and a shout of pain (Avery can't tell whether it was genuine or exaggerated), at which point the rest of the Avengers seem to become mobile again.

Everyone seems to keep their distance from Avery for the time being, which she can't help but feel immensely grateful for. She doubts she could handle so many people at once so soon after meeting them all. Bruce stays next to her and they begin talking quietly – well, Bruce does all of the talking, allowing Avey a distraction and remaining conscious of her choice not to speak. Bruce only has a basic knowledge of ASL, and Avey doesn't have anything she could write with. She doesn't feel comfortable using FRIDAY to speak for her in a room with such a large group of people that she doesn't know well enough to feel comfortable with yet.

Soon enough Clint comes back into the room, a slightly disgruntled look on his face that Avey can't help but smile at. He glances up just in time to catch her smile and their eyes lock, even if briefly. He sticks his tongue out at her childishly but smiles brightly all the same. He falls back onto the couch without looking and lands half on Sam's lap. The man grunts at the abrupt weight before shoving Clint off of his lap and onto the floor with only the smallest hint of annoyance. Sam looks down at Clint with a smug smirk as the latter pouts up at him like a petulant child, before he turns back to his conversation with Bucky who watched the entire exchange with undisguised amusement. Wanda and Pietro move towards Clint and the trio resume their conversation from ten minutes earlier about the twin's day in the city with Sam and Vision.

Avery is grateful for Bruce as he explains the different dynamics within the group, but she has to admit that the familial relationships the group holds is glaringly obvious. Avery watches Clint interact with the twins with fondness, remembering when she was younger, and she would tell stories of her day to her papa. She watches Bucky and Sam as they talk on the sofa. Their bodies are angled completely towards each other with their heads bent together as they converse softly. Every so often there will be the briefest touches between the two; the brush of a hand against the other's leg, the briefest resting of a head on the other's arm. It's clear to Avery that these two are soulmates, and the sight of the them together makes Avery smile softly. Mummers exchanged between Steve and Natasha drift slowly from the kitchen, every so often accompanied by soft laughter; and at that moment Tony and Pepper exit the elevator, hands linked and soft secret smiles on their faces. Avery can't help but feel wistful of a time when she and Clint will have a relationship like the three pairs of soulmates.

About ten minutes later, Steve's leans out of the kitchen, "Lunch is on, come grab your plates."

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"So, Avery, was it?" Steve says when everyone's plates are mostly empty. Avery jumps a little in surprise; she wasn't really expecting anyone to talk to her, she had been content to watch and listen to everyone else talking and laughing before now. But now she looks up at Captain America himself, and nods shyly. Steve smiles slightly in sympathy. He understands how uncomfortable it can be under the curious gazes of such a large group of extraordinary people. "What do you do here in the tower?"

At this moment, Avery begins to panic slightly, unsure how to proceed. She's only just met these people and she doesn't want to come across as rude for not speaking, but she also doesn't really want to start signing because that will end in more questions that she's not sure how to answer yet. Thankfully, Clint must recognise the distress on her face as he jumps in to answer for her, placing a comforting hand on her knee under the table.

"Avery is a scientist here; she works in one of the labs a few floors down." Clint says, sending a quick, reassuring smile Avery's way. "Although, I don't know what it is she does in her lab, and I doubt I'd be able to understand it if she did explain it to me."

Avery couldn't help the bashful smile that spread on her face at that. But then she notices the eyes on her again, and she knows that she missed something. Bruce chuckles quietly from his seat across the table from her, and Avery turns her confused gaze on him. He seems to understand the silent question that she is hoping to convey.

"Tony asked what project your working on. I assume that when you met earlier, he did not think to read up on the work you have done both here and before." The Avengers could see the moment understanding boomed on Avery's face, and a few chuckled at the level of innocence in the expression that they had lost within their own expressions (except for Vision and the Maximoff twins, who had convinced the sentient being to let them introduce him to Mario Kart).

Avery quickly looked at Pepper, lifting a single brow to ask whether she should answer herself or if Pepper would answer for her. After all, Pepper knew all of the happenings within the tower at all times. Pepper simply smirked and nodded back at Avery, indicating that she should take the ropes on this one. Avery sighed in resignation, and visibly steeled herself for the onslaught of questions that she knew would come her way.

 _Webcam?_ Avery directed to Pepper. She figured it would be easier to direct her words to FRIDAY to translate rather than having Pepper herself translate. Pepper simply reached into her bag and pulled out a portable webcam (she had had a feeling that Avery would end up being invited to family lunch this morning, but she had expected Tony to be the one to extend the invite – along with the offer of Avery becoming his third child). Avery quickly set the camera up in front of her, giving it a little wave to check whether FRIDAY was online.

"Hello again, Dr Jackson," the smooth Irish accent spoke, and Avery grinned at the camera.

 _Hey FRIDAY, mind translating for me?_

"Of course, Dr Jackson."

 _Thanks, FRIDAY. Okay, so my project is looking into further developing hearing aids. So hearing aids work by amplifying soundwaves. To put it simplistically, the microphone in the device receives the sound and converts it into a digital signal, the amplifier then increases the strength of this digital signal, and then the speaker produces the amplifies sound into the ear. Well, I'm working on hearing aids that will allow the wearer to hear the pitch and cadence of whatever they are listening to so it's not monotonous. I also want to make it possible for people who are completely deaf have the ability to hear again. Essentially allowing people who are deaf the complete ability to hear their loved one's voices, music, you name it._

The table is silent and they all stare at Avery in wonder. Clint is in complete awe of the woman beside him. He squeezes her knee, and Avery turns her gaze onto him. She blushes at the intense look in his eyes, but her hands find his that is still on her knee. She pulls it into her lap and squeezes tight for reassurance. The thought that she's getting way too attached to Clint way too quickly briefly flits across her mind but then she remembers that he's her soulmate. She can be as clingy as she wants, she's waited her whole life to meet him. Even if he doesn't know it yet.

"That's amazing, Avery." Clint says, his voice reverent and the crook of his neck tingling.

"It is," Bucky says, "God knows, Stevie almost fell off his chair first time he really heard his ma's voice for the first time, and they weren't as sophisticated as the ones nowadays." He jokes and receives a small shove and a huffed "Buck" from the man in question. "Are you deaf too, then? Is that why you chose that particular project subject?"

Avery shakes her head and pulls her hands free of Clint's to sign again (not that the others knew that she had been holding his hand, well maybe Natasha and Bucky did but they're superspies, what're ya gonna do?"). _No, I just made the choice long ago not to speak for personal reasons. But just because I've chosen not to be heard doesn't mean I don't sympathise with those who had the choice taken away from them for whatever reason. I want to help in whatever way I can, I'm not a genius for nothing._ Avery adds a wink as she says that last part with a wide grin on her face.

Suddenly Tony jumps up from his seat. "Right that's it, we're having family movie night except its right now so like family movie lunch thing. I don't know I can't invent everything. Avery don't even think about lifting those hands to protest, you're staying, and you are now my daughter. Now, we are all going to cuddle on those massive couches and Avery is going to sit next to her dad. Capiche?" Silence. "Good, chop-chop, let's go." And at that Avery is swept away by Tony to get prime positions on the sofa, Pepper hurrying after them, muttering that Tony needs to stop adopting every young person that he likes ("Why can't I, Pep? I'm Tony Stark, what kid is actually gonna say no?" No one had an answer to that).

Clint just sat there looking at the chair Avery had occupied not two seconds ago. Slowly he turned to Natasha, who was watching him with a smirk as the others moved about the room. "What the fuck just happened?"

"Tony Stark just stole your girl."

"Huh."

"Wait, Nat, she's not my girl."

"Yet."

"What do you mean?"

Silence.

"Nat, what do you mean yet? Stop walking away!"


End file.
